Telegraph foe railroads



(No Model.)

W. L. HUNT.

zsneets sh TELEGRAPH FOR RAILROADS.

Patenged Dec. 12, I;

eet 1.

(No Model.) 2 sheetssheet 2.

' W. L. HUNT.

TELEGRAPH FOR RAILROAADS. No. 268,796. Patented Dec. 12, 1882.

.R v .N j

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. HUNT, OF PORT HOPE, ONTARIO, CANADA.

TELEGRAPH FOR RAILROADS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 268,796, dated December 12, 1882, i Application filed October 3, 1882. (No model.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. HUNT, of Port Hope, in the county of Durham, Ontario, Canada, have invented an Improvement; in Telegraphs for Railroads, of which the follow ing is a specification.

My invention has reference to electric telegraphs adapted to railway purposes; and it consists in utilizing the rails as an electric conductor and providing them at intervals along their length with automatic mechanism which is adapted to break the circuit through the rails and cause it to traverse a wire up into the car while in motion, the said car being provided with suitable means for receiving and sending telegraphic communications, and in 'many details of construction, all of which are fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form part thereof.

The object of this invention is to provide a car with suitable means to cause an electric current from a line-circuit to pass up through a circuit in the car while the said caris in motion, to the end that telegraphic communications may be had from any distant station with persons on said car, or communication may be had between two trains at a distance from each other.

1n the drawings, Figure l is a sectional ele' vation of a car and railroad embodying my improvements. removed. Fig. 3 is a section across the railroad, and shows method of closing the rail-circuit. Fig. 4 is a similar view, and shows method of opening the circuit to cause the current to pass up into the car; and Fig. 5 isa side elevation of the contact between any two adjacent rails.

A are the rails, and are secured to tiesB, but are so arranged that their ends do not butt against each other.

O and D are supports or bearings for the levers E and H, which are connected together by links G. The inner ends of leversE carry anti-friction rollers F, which are all arranged in line in the center of the track. The outer ends of levers H are provided with contactpieees h, which may be made of springs or simple contact-pieces. The said contacts It may either fit between the ends of the adjacent rails, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, or they may as to form a continuous circuit.

Fig. 2 is a plan of same with car.

simply rest upon the bottoms of the two rails, as. shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5, so as to connect the said rails electrically together so Each rail may be a separate circuit, if desired, or only one side may be used. The contacts, when down, fall into recesses bin the ties B. Springs may be used to keep the various levers and contacts in their normal position, as shownin Fig. 3, and in which the circuit is closed. At

a station, X, oneof the contacts his removed, and the ends of the two adjacent rails connected by wires T to the usual telegraphic instruments.

The car L is provided with the usual wheels, M, whose axles are electrically connected with the circuit R through'the car from end to end, and which is provided with a key and sounder, P, or a relay, P adapted to operate asouuder in a local circuit provided with a local battery, P 0 are spring-supports, arranged to support a shoe, N, having curved ends a.

It is evident that the circuit-opening devices may be reduced in numbers by putting ashoe on the front and rear cars of a long train; but this would necessitate the use of long trains to insure working.

The operation is as follows: As the car moves along the shoe N, which is sufficiently long to press upon two sets of contact-operating rollers, F, forces down the rollers to the position shown in Fig. 4, opening the circuit through the rails, and as one set of wheels is always to the rear of the break, and the other set always in advance of the break, the current passes up through the wheels, through circuit It, telegraphic instruments, down through the wheels again to rail-circuit. Before one contact is closed the next adjacent one is opened, so as to keep the rail-circuit under the car open at all times.

I do not limit myself to the exact mechanism shown, as it may be modified in various ways without departing from my invention.

1 am aware of'patent granted to Putnam, June28, 1881, and claim nothing therein shown or described.

Having now described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isy 1. A railroad in which the rails are'utilized as an electrical conductor,,in combination with circuit-opening devices arranged at equal distances along the track and adapted to make or break the electric circuit through said rails, acar provided with electric or telegraphic apparatus, and automatic means to act upon said circuit-openin g devices and cause the current from said rails to pass up through said telegraphic apparatus in the car while the latter is in motion, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. A railroad in which the rails are utilized as an electric conductor, in combination with circuit-opening, devices arranged at equal distances along the track and adapted to make or break the electric circuit through said rails, a car provided with means to automatically act upon saidcircuit-opening devices and break said rail-circuit and keep it .open as the car moves over said rails, the break occurring below or nearly below the car, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of rails A, contacts 71,

anti-friction rollers F, mechanism connecting said contacts with said rollers, and a car provided with a shoe, N, to depress said rollers to open the contacts, substantially as and for p the purpose specified.

4. The combination of rails A, levers E, the former of which are provided with rollers F, and the latter of which are provided with contacts it, links G, and springs K, with car L, provided with shoe N, circuit R, and telegraphic apparatus in said circuit, substantially.

as and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination of rails A, rollers F, contacts h, and mechanism connecting said rollers and contacts, with a car, L, provided with spring-supports O and shoe N, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony of which invention 1 hereunto WILLIAM L. HUNT. Witnesses:

GEORGE OLMSTEAD,

A. LOHNER. 

